Nursery World - Minority parents shun formal care

Families from ethnic minorities use informal childcare because of a lack of culturally and religiously sensitive provision that meets their needs, a report by the Department for Trade and Industry has found. The report, Diversity and difference: Minority ethnic mothers and childcare, by the department's Women and Equality Unit, said there appeared to be 'few formal childcare services available for minority ethnic groups, which operate for whole days throughout the week, and before school starts, which are culturally and religiously sensitive'.

The report, Diversity and difference: Minority ethnic mothers and childcare, by the department's Women and Equality Unit, said there appeared to be 'few formal childcare services available for minority ethnic groups, which operate for whole days throughout the week, and before school starts, which are culturally and religiously sensitive'.

The report, which was based on 22 focus groups with minority ethnic and white mothers, highlighted a need for more childcare staff from Asian and minority ethnic communities, and for more minority members to be encouraged to become childminders. The report also recommended that settings showed greater cultural and religious sensitivity in terms of dress, religious readings, prayers, respect for ethnic origin and culture, and halal food.

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